REPORT

Third Quarterly Meeting of the SCIVN Statewide Coalition Thursday, February 25, 2010, 12:00-3:00 pm St. Peters Catholic Church, Columbia, South Carolina Executive Summary The Third Quarterly Meeting of the SCIVN Statewide Coalition was held at St. Peters Catholic Church in Columbia, South Carolina, on February 25, 2010. Forty-five people representing over thirty organizations attended (complete list of participants at the end of this report). The meeting began at 12:00 pm and ended at 3:00 pm. Attorney Patricia Ravenhorst, Director of the SCIVN, began the meeting by explaining that the reason for these Coalition meetings is to further learn from each other and facilitate interagency collaboration, which is necessary in order to avoid duplication of services. Ms. Ravenhorst provided a brief update on the discussion and consensus items developed by the Coalition during the Inaugural Summit of the Statewide Coalition held on August 28, 2009, and the Second meeting on December 4, 2009. Ms. Maria Smoak welcomed all participants to St. Peters Catholic Church. Coalition members reported on the progress made by Coalition partners in the areas of domestic violence and human trafficking since the December 4 meeting. Ms. Ravenhorst provided a brief overview of the immigration benefits available to immigrant victims of crime, including, the U Visa, T Visa, and VAWA and SIJS Self-petitions. The group then elected to break out into working groups on the following five topics: 1) outreach to immigrant communities and law enforcement education, 2) Legal Services, 3) human trafficking, 4) abused children, and 5) domestic violence and sexual assault. (Detailed minutes from each breakout group are included below.) The entire group then reconvened to report on the points of consensus and/or desired action items discussed in the breakout groups. Reports of all Coalition Meetings are available on the SCVAN website (www.scvan.org). The next quarterly meetings of the SCIVN Statewide Coalition in 2010 will be: Thursday, May 27, 2010, from 12:00 to 3:00 pm on at St. Paters Catholic Church in Columbia, South Carolina. Thursday, August 26, 2010, from 12:00 to 3:00 pm. Location TBD Thursday, November 25, 2010, from 12:00 to 3:00 pm. Location TBD

Meeting Highlights Welcome and Introductions Maria Smoak welcomed the group to St. Peters Catholic Church and expressed their excitement to host this Coalition working together to help immigrants. St. Peters was founded by Irish immigrants and has a long history of welcoming immigrants. Patricia Ravenhorst asked participants to introduce themselves. She then offered a summary on the previous two meetings and the breakout groups that were formed at each one. The groups were asked to provide an update of their collaborative efforts since the December 4 meeting.

Overview of Coalition Activities from December Breakout Groups Domestic Violence. Karla Fischbach, PASOs intern, mentioned that during the last meeting, the DV breakout group shared general ideas and common dreams to serve victims in a culturally and linguistically competent manner. They had a conference call with Vicki Bourus of SCCADVASA and Tricia Ravenhorst, and decided on two next steps: research on best practices to serve immigrant victims, and learning better what other shelters are doing. To accomplish the latter, they would like to propose that the shelters do a self-assessment on how they are dealing with DV victims. Human Trafficking. Maryse Gartner, Director of Not for Sale, reported that since the last meeting, they are conducting Freedom Sunday, an initiative to have churches pray for freedom for Human Trafficking victims all over the world. More information is available on the website: www.notforsalecampaign.org. Kelly ONeill-Bagwell, President of the Eastern Carolina Coalition Against Human Trafficking (ECCAHT), held an event at the Myrtle Beach Airport to raise awareness on Human Trafficking and had good press coverage. So far the media has been supportive. She also reported that they have a victim advocacy program, in which advocates go out in the community to raise awareness and ask local agencies to sign MOUs with ECCAHT. Legal Services and Law Enforcement Education. South Carolina Victim Assistance Network (SCVAN), with the support of South Carolina Legal Services (SCLS), and South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (SCCADVASA), submitted a grant application to expand their capacity to provide legal services to immigrants. AILA attorneys have been very supportive referring cases. Pam Gregory, from the FBI, conducted a Human Trafficking presentation, and Tricia talked about immigrant rights during the SC Solicitors Association Winter Conference.

Overview of Immigration Benefits Available to Crime Victims Patricia Ravenhorst, from SCIVN, conducted brief training on the various immigration benefits available to immigrant victims of crime that SCIVN and its network of legal partners may be able to help victims file. These benefits specifically include: U Visa for victims of certain qualifying crimes that cooperate with the investigation or prosecution of the crime T Visa for victims of human trafficking that cooperate with the investigation or prosecution of the crime Violence Against Women Act self-petitions for spouses, children and parents of abusive US citizens and legal permanent residents Special Immigrant Juvenile self-petitions for abused, neglected or abandoned children that a family court determines should not be reunified with one or both parents and should not be returned to their home country

For information about these and other humanitarian immigration benefits, please visit the US Citizenship and Immigration Service website at www.uscis.gov

Breakout Groups The group was asked to break out into existing groups or form a new group based on their area of interest. A list of the groups formed during the Inaugural Summit was presented to assist participants with their selection. SUGGESTED BREAKOUT GROUPS BASED ON INAUGURAL SUMMIT Outreach to Immigrant Communities Education and Training of Victim Service Providers Education & Training of Law Enforcement Human Trafficking Abused Children Legal Services Interpreters Sexual Assault Counseling/Therapy Domestic Violence Other

Breakout Groups Each group was asked to select one person to be the groups Timekeeper, who would help the group move from one exercise to the next according to the timeframes set in the agenda and a groups Secretary. This person would be responsible for keeping minutes of the discussion for this Breakout Session. Paired Interviews New participants were asked to select a person in the breakout group whom they knew least. Each pair took approximately 15 minutes to interview each other using the following questions to guide their discussion. 1. Tell me about a time when you were very proud of yourself or your organization? What made this moment possible? What was your role in the activity or event? 2. Answer the Following Questions: (& write down each answer on a separate sticky note) a. DREAMS: Tell me about one thing that you would like to see achieved relating to the issue being discussed in this breakout group? b. RESOURCES: What are the resources and information available to make this possible? c. NEEDS: What are the resources and information that are needed? The pairs reported back to their Breakout Group. The entire Breakout Group reviewed and organized the Dreams, Available Resources, and Needs identified by the group using the prior meeting minutes (if any) and new comments from the paired interviews. Summary from Breakout Groups Breakout Groups were asked to select a member to present a summary report of the experiences, issues, dreams and resources needed as discussed in their groups. (A complete list of the ideas presented in the summary reports is included below.) Closing The afternoon closed with Ms. Ravenhorst discussing possible next steps and encouraging the small groups to communicate their needs with the South Carolina Immigrant Victim Network staff and share their progress. This report was written by SCIVN staff, Patricia Ravenhorst and Adela Mendoza, based on the notes taken during the meeting and the summary reports written by the participants.

Breakout Group Notes

1) Outreach to Immigrant Communities and Law Enforcement Education Participants: Det. Nicholas Hullinger, Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office Det. Dennis Maldata, Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office Dep. David Nieves, Lexington County, SC April Bayne, Solicitors Office James A. Parker, Seans Last Wish Veronica Swain Kunz, CEO of the SC Victim Assistance Network Dreams: Hispanic community communicates with Law Enforcement Road officers can use a reliable and free translator/interpreter at any time. Create one-stop shop that reduced the poverty level of all crime victims Spanish-speaking shelters. That all persons are treated in the same manner and with equal respect regardless of gender and ethnic, economic and social background. Needs: Path to help undocumented immigrants become documented. Establish a good relationship between law enforcement and Latino communities with the help of the Sheriffs Department. Encourage (and help) new immigrants learn English. Resources Available: Officers willing to step outside the box and take a new look at problems. Legislative changes. Seans Last Wish provides support for all ethnic and immigration-related problems. 2) Legal Services. Participants: Tammy Besherse, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, Columbia, SC Susan Chang, SC Legal Services, Greenville, SC Jada Charley, SC Legal Services, Greenville, SC Susan Dunn, ACLU of South Carolina, Charleston, SC Emily Guerrero, Catholic Charities, Charleston, SC Andrea Loney, SC Legal Services, Greenville, SC Joy Mandanas, McNair Law Firm, Columbia, SC Veronica Swain Kunz, CEO of the SC Victim Assistance Network Maria Yturria, Richland County Sheriffs Department, SC Dreams: One-stop shop for victims to access services and information such as legal, financial, therapeutic and housing. Coordinated Systems of services. Increased coordination and referral between legal service providers in the state. Network of full services. Group of immigration attorneys getting together to discuss working on recruiting and training more pro bono attorneys.

Shine light on what is happening with 287(g) projects. Local law enforcement and their connection with ICE. Profiling arrests vs. tickets.

Resources: Large network of agencies attending these meetings. Grant writing. Law students to do data collection. Helpful folks within law enforcement. Models from other communities are available. Needs: Contact information of agencies participating in the Statewide Coalition Meetings. 3 or 4 interns to gather all the information. More grant money available for funding. Web presence to publicize. Resource guide. A way to recruit law students. Can a state agency oversee a one-stop shop? More legal services available to immigrants. Funding for children victims of Domestic Violence issues. 3) Human Trafficking Participants: Bill Botoo, Not for Sale, South Carolina Doris Cheek, Zonta Club of Columbia, Columbia, SC Janice Dyer, Zonta Club of Hilton Head Island, Hilton Head, SC Maryse Gartner, Director of Not for Sale Campaign, South Carolina Emily Guerrero, Catholic Charities, Charleston, SC M.J. Hassell, Zonta Club of Columbia, Columbia, SC Andrew Lowder, South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice, Columbia, SC Joy Mandanas, McNair Law Firm, Columbia, SC Kelly ONeill-Bagwell, Eastern Carolina Coalition Against Human Trafficking, Myrtle Beach, SC Veronica Swain Kunz, CEO of the SC Victim Assistance Network Maria Yturria, Richland County Sheriffs Department, SC Issues proposed for discussion and next steps for the SCIVN Human Trafficking group. What will our statewide human trafficking coalition look like? What other groups, organizations, law enforcement categories, etc., should we include in a collective coalition? How can we or should we coalesce our plans with the trifecta group that SCIVN/SCVAN and the district attorney's office are suggesting? How can our SC Rescue & Restore HT coalition work better together? What groups need to be added to this coalition? Is local or pending statewide and national legislation impacting our ability to pursue HT traffickers and victims? What politicians need to be approached and why? Who will focus on each or any of these individuals? What will our proposed statewide "public awareness campaign" look like? Should the campaign be funded by the collective state coalition? Who will implement each part of it (advertising, public relations, publicity, promotion and general marketing)?

4) Abused Children Participants: Tammy Besherse, South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice, Columbia, SC Courtney Cadien, Guardian ad Litem Program, Columbia, SC Louise Cooper, Guardian ad Litem Program, Columbia, SC Felicia Dauway, CVO Governors Office, SC Amy Beth Franks, Guardian ad Litem Program, Columbia, SC Tom LeClair, Childrens Law Center, Columbia, SC Kathleen McLean-Titus, SC Department of Social Services, Columbia, SC Sally S. Mintz, SC Guardian ad Litem Program, Columbia, SC Josephine Rivera Stacey, Dee Norton Lowcountry Childrens Center Family Advocate Update from last meeting: 1. DSS policy currently underway to develop per Kathleen McLean-Titus. Have a directed memo for steps. A copy of the memo requested by Tammy Besherse. NFCM (National Foster Care Manager) is sponsoring a Fall conference on suggested policies. 2. Sally discussed cultural bias in GAL training language vs. country of origin. BRYCS from Childrens Bureaus at HHS is sponsoring the call above. 3. Kathleen is now the contact at DSS for immigrant family issues. DSS will begin to include those county staff that have large populations of immigrants. 4. Sally from GAL will ask for needs to be court-ordered. Add specific language to GAL reports that will mandate perpetrators to pay for some benefits. 5. Josephine suggested private pay for some immigrant child services. 6. Once DSS policy is completed, Childrens Law Center will train public via Childrens Justice Act Taskforce. Dreams and Resources: Childrens Law Center to furnish research to GAL program about contract GAL attorneys to do Special Immigrant Juvenile cases Needs: Legal training for attorneys for SIJS status. 5) Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Participants: Rebecca Williams, SCCADVASA Emmie Caplan, Sistercare Emily Flores, Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands Julissa Mota, Safe Homes, Spartanburg, SC Susan Chang, SC Legal Services Karla Fischbach, intern PASOs, Columbia, SC Julie Smithwick-Leone, PASOs, Columbia, SC Kimberly Feeney Department of Social Services Julieta Barcaglioni, Safe Harbor, Greenville, SC Dreams: Increased awareness/education for law enforcement and judges. Statewide resources (making them more accessible). Sharing resources within SC across various agencies. Increasing access to services available to immigrant communities. Bilingual counselors who could work within immigrant communities.

Next Steps: To identify programmatic strengths and best practices along with a comprehensive list of needs for agencies that serve victims of domestic violence and/or sexual assault; the working group will pool resources to administer a self-assessment survey. The assessment tool will be developed by Karla Fischbach in conjunction with her Social Work field placement at PASOs. Others will assist in distributing the assessment tool and with responding to the data that are generated from the survey.

Appendix List of Attendees

Name
Julieta Tammy Bill April Courtney Emmie Susan Jada Doris Louise Felicia Fabienne Susan Janice Kimberly Karla Emily Amy Beth Maryse Emily M.J. Nicholas Tom Andrea Andrew Dennis Joy Kathleen Adela Sally S. Julissa David Kelly James A. Patricia Josephine Ron Julie Maria Veronica Myriam Rebecca Maria

Last Name
Barcaglioni Besherse Botoo Bayne Cadien Caplan Chang Charley Cheek Cooper Dauway Deyoe Dunn Dyer Feeney Fischbach Flores Franks Gartner Guerrero Hassell Hullinger LeClair Loney Lowder Maldata Mandanas McLean-Titus Mendoza Mintz Mota Nieves ONeill-Bagwell Parker Ravenhorst Rivera Stacey Smith Smithwick-Leone Smoak Swain Kunz Torres Williams Yturria

Organization
Shelter Counselor, Safe Harbor, Greenville SC Attorney, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, Columbia, SC Not for Sale, South Carolina Solicitors Office Guardian ad Litem Program, Columbia, SC Bilingual Counselor, Sistercare, Columbia, SC Attorney, SC Legal Services, Greenville, SC Attorney, SC Legal Services, Greenville, SC Zonta Club of Columbia, Columbia, SC Guardian ad Litem Program, Columbia, SC CVO Governors Office Office & Finance Manager, SC Victim Assistance Network Attorney, ACLU of South Carolina, Charleston, SC Zonta Club of Hilton Head Island, Hilton Head, SC Department of Social Services Intern PASOs Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands Guardian ad Litem Program, Columbia, SC Director of Not for Sale Campaign, South Carolina Attorney, Catholic Charities, Charleston, SC Zonta Club of Columbia, Columbia, SC Detective, Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office Childrens Law Center, Columbia, SC SC Legal Services, Greenville, SC South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice. Columbia, SC Detective, Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office McNair Law Firm, Columbia, SC SC Department of Social Services, Columbia, SC Program Manager, South Carolina Immigrant Victim Network SC Guardian ad Litem Program, Columbia, SC Safe Homes, Spartanburg, SC Deputy, Lexington County, SC Eastern Carolina Coalition Against Human Trafficking, Myrtle Beach, SC Seans Last Wish Director/Attorney, South Carolina Immigrant Victim Network Dee Norton Lowcountry Childrens Center Family Advocate Department of Social Services, Columbia, SC PASOs, Columbia, SC St. Peter's Catholic Church, Columbia, SC CEO of the South Carolina Victim Assistance Network USC Consortium for Immigration and Latin Studies, Columbia, SC SCCADVASA Richland County Sheriffs Department, SC